Safety closure device

ABSTRACT

The disclosure is directed to a safety closure device for liquid containers which prevent a child from placing his mouth in contact with the discharge neck of the container but permit the contents to be poured freely. The device is comprised of a number of legs which may be connected to the cap and extend down into the bottle in the closed position. In the open position feet or lower members of the legs engage the inner surface of the neck at the bottom and lugs engage the upper surface of the neck preventing the cap from being withdrawn or pushed back into the bottle until a compression force is applied to the legs. The cap is supported on the ends of the legs above the lugs at a sufficient distance so that a child&#39;&#39;s mouth placed over the cap cannot engage the neck of the bottle to permit drinking of the contents.

lJnited States Patent 11 1 Thomas SAFETY CLOSURE DEVICE [75] Inventor: Douglas W. Thomas, Toms River,

[73] Assignee: American Home Products Corporation, New York, NY.

[22] Filed: Aug.31,1971

[21] Appl.No.: 176,631

Primary Examiner-George T. Hall Attorney vito Victor Bellino et al.

[ 1 Feh.13,1973

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT The disclosure is directed to a safety closure device for liquid containers which prevent a child from placing his mouth in contact with the discharge neck of the container but permit the contents to be poured freely. The device is comprised of a number of legs which may be connected to the cap and extend down into the bottle in the closed position. In the open position feet or lower members of the legs engage the inner surface of the neck at the bottom and lugs engage the upper surface of the neck preventing the cap from being withdrawn or pushed back into the bottle until a compression force is applied to the legs The cap is supported on the ends of the legs above the lugs at a sufficient distance so that a child's mouth placed over the cap cannot engage the neck of the bottle to permit drinking of the contents.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SAFETY CLOSURE DEVICE The present invention is directed to a safety closure device for containers ofliquids which may be harmful if ingested. The device supports the cap, when removed, at a predetermined position above the neck of the bottle so that the contents may be readily poured by inclining the bottle, but sufficiently far away from the neck so as to prevent a child from placing his lips on the neck of the bottle to drink its contents, even if the cap is placed in the mouth of the child.

The trend of safety closures for household products has been towards tamper-proof closures or closures that are made difficult for achildto open. There are, however, no known closure devices which prevent a child from drinking the liquid contents of a container should the closure be removed and the container left in the open condition, for instance, should the mother be called from the room during the course of her household activities. It is a natural tendency for a small child to drink from an open bottle by placing his mouth aroundthe opening and raising the bottle. There is no known closure which prevents or greatly restricts such a motion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety closure device for liquid containers which prevent a child from placing his lips in engagement with the discharge orifice of the container when the container is in the open position.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a safety closure device which prevents small children from drinking the contents of a liquid container when the container is in the open position, but may be readily opened and closed by an adult.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view, partly in perspective and partly in section, of a container utilizing one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a ment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1 the safety closure device is shown in the withdrawn position as used in conjunction with a liquid container 12 having a retaining chamber l4 and a neck 16 connected to the retaining chamber by a shoulder portion 18, all of which are usually, though not necessarily, concentric about an axis 20.

' The safety closure device as shown in FIG. 1 has two legs, or first members, 22, 24. If desired more such legs may be utilized. Each of the legs has a foot 26, 28 connected to the end of the leg proximal to the retaining chamber and disposed awayfrom the axis 20 so as to preferred embodiengage the lower neck surface 30. Preferably the feet are formed by bending the legs, but if desired separate members may be connected to the legs to serve as feet. Each of the legs 22, 24 has connected to it a lug, or upperengaging member, 32, 34, respectively, which is adapted to engage the upper neck surface portion 36. The lugs 32, 34 as shown in FIG. 1 are comprised of lug portions 38, 40 and 42, 44 respectively which are formed by'bending the legs in the appropriate configuration. If desired, the lug may be formed from separate members connected to the legs. Desirable the lug portions 40, 44 are formed at an obtuse angle with the intermediate leg portions 56, 58 so as to provide an inclined plane which easily slides across the inner neck surface at its lower extremity facilitating the withdrawal of the safety closure device from the closed to the open position. The lugs 32, 34 are spaced apart from the feet 26, 28 by intermediate portions 46, 48, respectively, which are preferably of such length as to permit both the feet and the lugs to engage the respective neck surfaces at the same time. However the intermediate portions 46, 48 may be longer if desired.

A cap 50 is connected to the legs 22, 24 at their ends which are distal to the retaining chamber 14. The cap 50 is adapted to sealably engage the neck 16 to prevent the loss or evaporation of the contents during shipping and storage. The cap 50 is shown in the preferred embodiment as a threaded device adaptable to engage cooperating threads 52 on the neck. However, unthreaded caps may be used as is well known in the art. The legs 22, 24 are connected by a resilient member 54 which serves as an intermediate support for the legs and also urges the legs apart from each other and into engagement with the neck as described above. The intermediate leg portions 56, 58 are of predetermined length so as to space the cap 50 a predetermined distance, typically 1 to 2 inches, above the upper neck surface portion when the safety closure device 10 is in the open position.

The location of the cap at the predetermined spacing permits the contents of the container to be easily poured but prevents a childs small mouth from engaging the lips of the container either directly or by first placing the cap in the child's mouth. The length of the intermediate leg portions 56, 58 is made sufficiently large so that ifthe child places the cap in his mouth his lips will not be able to engage the neck of the container. The result may be a messy spilling of the contents over the child (thus giving the parent a warning that the child has attempted to ingest the contents) but will prevent the child from ingesting much, if any, of the contents.

An alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2 in which a safety closure device 60 is made up of small gage wire legs 62, 64, 66 which are connected, for instance, by welding, at one of their ends by a connector 68 which may also be a fine gage wire. Each of the legs 62, 64, 66 has a foot 70, 72, 74, respectively.

Lugs 76, 78, respectively are defined in the legs 62, 64, 66 at predetermined distances from the feet 70, 72, 74 connected by intermediate portions 82, 84, 86, respectively. The connector 68 is spaced a predetermined distance from the lugs 76, 78, 80 by intermediate members portions 88, 90, 92 respectively, and may engage a lined cap or support a liner and unlined caps as described below with regard to FIG. 3.

In FIG. 3 is shown a preferred embodiment of the present invention. There a safety closure device is comprised of two legs 102, 104 which may be of metal or plastic. Each leg has a foot 106, 108, respectively, at one end and an intermediately disposed lug 110, 112, respectively, spaced apart from the feet 106, 108 by intermediate leg portions 114, 116 respectively. The lugs 110, 112 may be formed by bending the material of the legs 102, 104 into portions 118, 120 and 122, 124 respectively. Spaced apart from the lugs l 10, 112 by intermediate leg portions 126, 128, respectively, and

connected to the legs 102 and 104 is a cap liner 130 which may be made of the same material as the legs or may have added to it soft plastic laminae on one or both sides composed of materials which are customarily used as liners for caps. A linerless cap, not shown, may be connected to the cap liner 130 in well known fashion, for instance by adhesives or by crimping. The cap and liner as described above with regard to to FIG. 1 may be used to sealably engage the neck of a liquid container during shipping and storage. Disposed between and connected to the legs 102, 104 are resilient connecting members 132, 134 which may be made of the same material as the legs or may be of a thin plastic or metal spring material. The resilient members serve to yieldably urge the legs, feet and lugs into engagement with their respective cooperating surfaces ofa container as described with regard to FIG. 1.

What is claimed is:

l. A safety closure device for containers having a discharge neck smaller than the retaining chamber comprising A. at least two first members of predetermined length greater than the length of the neck and adapted to be inserted into the discharge neck of the container;

B. means connecting said first members together;

C. a lower neck-engaging member connected to each of said first members at the ends nearest to the retaining chamber, said end portions extending away from the axis of the neck and being adapted to engage the internal surface of the portion of the neck proximal to the retaining chamber;

D. an upper neck engaging member connected to each of said first members disposed intermediate the ends of said first members and spaced apart from said lower neck engaging members by a distance at least equal to the length of the neck and adapted to engage the upper surface portion of the neck when the device is in withdrawn position.

2. A safety closure device as described in claim 1 and further comprising a second member connected to said first members at the ends of said first members distal to the retaining chamber and adapted to be disposed away from the upper surface portion of the neck when the device is in the withdrawn position.

3. A safety closure device as described in claim 2 wherein said second member is a cap adapted to sealably engage the neck.

4. A safety closure device as defined in claim 2 wherein said second member is a cap liner and further comprising a linerless cap connected to said cap liner and adapted to sealably engage the neck.

5. A safety closure device as defined in claim 1 further comprising at least one resilient member disposed between two or more of said first members on the side of said first members proximal to the axis of the neck, and adapted to yieldably urge said first members into contact with the internal surface of the neck. 

1. A safety closure device for containers having a discharge neck smaller than the retaining chamber comprising A. at least two first members of predetermined length greater than the length of the neck and adapted to be inserted into the discharge neck of the container; B. means connecting said first members together; C. a lower neck-engaging member connected to each of said first members at the ends nearest to the retaining chamber, said end portions extending away from the axis of the neck and being adapted to engage the internal surface of the portion of the neck proximal to the retaining chamber; D. an upper neck engaging member connected to each of said first members disposed intermediate the ends of said first members and spaced apart from said lower neck engaging members by a distance at least equal to the length of the neck and adapted to engage the upper surface portion of the neck when the device is in withdrawn position.
 1. A safety closure device for containers having a discharge neck smaller than the retaining chamber comprising A. at least two first members of predetermined length greater than the length of the neck and adapted to be inserted into the discharge neck of the container; B. means connecting said first members together; C. a lower neck-engaging member connected to each of said first members at the ends nearest to the retaining chamber, said end portions extending away from the axis of the neck and being adapted to engage the internal surface of the portion of the neck proximal to the retaining chamber; D. an upper neck engaging member connected to each of said first members disposed intermediate the ends of said first members and spaced apart from said lower neck engaging members by a distance at least equal to the length of the neck and adapted to engage the upper surface portion of the neck when the device is in withdrawn position.
 2. A safety closure device as described in claim 1 and further comprising a second member connected to said first members at the ends of said first members distal to the retaining chamber and adapted to be disposed away from the upper surface portion of the neck when the device is in the withdrawn position.
 3. A safety closure device as described in claim 2 wherein said second member is a cap adapted to sealably engage the neck.
 4. A safety closure device as defined in claim 2 wherein said second member is a cap liner and further comprising a linerless cap connected to said cap liner and adapted to sealably engage the neck. 